Feed-bag.



A. H. SHOEMAKER.

FEED BAG. APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 190a.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

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ATTORNEY.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVIN H. SHOEMAKER, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM I. EWART, OF- SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

FEED-BAG.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIN H. SHOEMAKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of ashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed-Bags, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to feed-bags and especially to improvements in the device of this class which was illustrated and described in patent application, Serial No. 400,651, filed by me November 4, 1907.

One of the objects of my present improvements is to provide a feed bag of novel construction which may be conveniently suspended from an animals head while feeding and is divided so as to provide a feed-recep tacle, and a feeding-compartment arranged to afford to the animals nostrils free'access to the open air for breathing, and which will reliably deliver the grain from said receptacle to the feeding compartment to replenish the quantity of feed as consumed from the latter.

A further object of my improvements is to provide a removable closure in the communicating passage between said receptacle and the feeding compartment whereby a ration of feed may be confined within the re ceptacle for a subsequent feeding.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevati on of a feed'bag embodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a side view, partly broken away, of the bag in use. Fig. 4 is a distended view of a piece of fabric from which the body of the bag is constructed. Fig. 5 is a similar view of the partition member of the bag. Fig. 6 is a View of the part shown in Fig. 5 with the end folded up. Fig. 7 are detail fragmentary sections of alternative constructions at the lower edge of the bag.

The bag is comprised of a body 10 made of a piece of flexible material shaped in the blank, see Fig. 4, with a centrally arranged re'eIntrant angle 11 at the bottom, and with the adjacent loweredges 12 curved as shown while the lateral edges 13 are arranged in oblique converging lines. This blank is formed symmetrically with respect to a vertical axis ww so that when folded thereat the edges 12 and 13 of the opposite sides will register.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 7. 1908.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

Serial No. 425,784.

14 represents an inverted triangular shaped piece of flexible material which is sewed along its lateral edges, as at 15, to the sides of the first named piece 10 and at about the position indicated by the lines 16 in Figs. 1 and 4, to divide the bag into two compartments 17 and 18 which normally communicate through an aperture 19, see Figs. 2 and 3. The free end 14 of the partition piece 14 is employed when desired to close the aforesaid aperture and at other times may be tucked beneath a strap 20 secured to the main portion of the partition.

At the bottom, the sides of the bag part 10 are reliably secured together at 12, as by sewing. To strengthen such seam a binding strip 21 of a stiff material, such as leather or relatively thin sheet metal, is doubled about the seam in the manner shown in Fig. 7, and securely fastened thereto by sewing or riveting. The described mode of protecting the bag bottom against distortion will in most cases be sufiicient but additional stiffening and strengthening means may be r0- vided, by the inclusion within the doubled portion of the binding strip 21 of a wire 22 of suflicient rigidity to afford the desired stiffness and bent to conform to the configuration of the bottom of the bag.

23 represents an adjustable strap having its ends secured to the top of the bag for suspending the same from a horses neck.

24 is a nose strap secured to the front of the bag and arranged to keep the bag in operative position and the partition 14 in proximity of the horses head.

By withdrawing the extremity or lapel 14 from the strap 20 and placing the same to extend rearwardly over the bottom of the compartment 17 any feed which is placed in this compartment will be prevented from escaping therefrom and thus furnish a bag in which the feed may be carried. When the bag is to be employed for feeding purposes, then the lapel would be again engaged by the strap 20, so as to open the aperture 19. The bag is then hung by the strap 23 over a horses neck, as shown in Fig. 3, and with its nose inserted between the strap 24 and the partition 14. The bag is then ready for use and the horse in reaching for grain at the bottom of the compartment 18 and in masticating the feed will agitate the flexible partition 14 so as to shake the grain down in the hopper 17 and sufiicient will escape I through the aperture 19 into the compartment 18 to supply the consumption of the horse until emptied.

A great advantage of this invention resides in its simplicity of construction and the consequent reduction in its cost in material and. labor. The specific construction of the bag proper in two parts and their combination show features that have further advantages and are believed to be new and a decided advance in the art.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, is a l. A feed-bag constructed with a flexible body a partition dividing the body into two compartments, a wire extending along the bottom of the body for stifiening the same thereat, and a binding strip inclosing the wire and secured to the bottom of said body.

2. A feed-bag formed with a body constructed of a piece of flexible material which is folded and sewed along its meeting edges to form a V-shaped bottom, a partition dividing the body into two compartments with a communicating way beneath said partition, a wire at the bottom of the body for stiffening the latter in a longitudinal direction, and means for securing the wire to said body.

3. In a feed-bag, the combination with the bag body constructed of a single piece of fabric which is formed, folded and sewed along its meeting edges to provide a V-shaped bottom, and a partition dividing the body into two communicating compartments which respectively serve for feeding and supply purposes, of a stiffening wire extending along said meeting edges, and a closure for the opening between said compartments.

l. A feed-bag of the class described, comprised of a body formed of a single piece of fabric which is folded and sewed along its bottom edges, a wire extending longitudinally along the said bottom of the bag, a1

doubling strip secured to the body for securing said wire in said position, a partition dividing the bag into two compartments, a strap for suspending the bag to the neck of a horse, and a nose strap.

5. A feed-bag of the class described, comprised of a body formed of a single piece which is folded and sewed along its bottom edges, a partition formed of a triangular configuration and sewed along a part of each. of its lateral edges to the sides of the body and disposed so as to afford an opening below the sewed portions of the partition and the bottom of the bag, the part of the partition which is below the sewed portions being arranged to furnish a closure for said opening, a strap for securing the unconnected part of the partition out of the way of the opening when unemployed, a stiffening reinforcing means for the bottom of the body, means for securing the bag to the neck of a horse, and a nose strap.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALVIN H. SHOEMAKER.

Witnesses HORACE BARNES, A. B. SMITH. 

